Water immersion tolerance by larval instars of stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, L1758 (Diptera: Muscidae) impairs the fitness performance of their subsequent stages
Abstract Background In holometabolous insects, environmental factors experienced in pre-imaginal life stages affect the life-history traits within that stage and can also influence subsequent life stages. Here, I assessed tolerance to water immersion by the larval instars of the stable fly, Stomoxys...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2021-05-01
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| Series: | BMC Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-021-01810-z |
| _version_ | 1819109342944690176 |
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| author | Steve B. S. Baleba |
| author_facet | Steve B. S. Baleba |
| author_sort | Steve B. S. Baleba |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background In holometabolous insects, environmental factors experienced in pre-imaginal life stages affect the life-history traits within that stage and can also influence subsequent life stages. Here, I assessed tolerance to water immersion by the larval instars of the stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans L. (Diptera: Muscidae) and its impact on the life-history traits of their subsequent life stages. Results After submerging the three larval instars of S. calcitrans in distilled water, I found that the first instar larvae remained active for longer as compared to the second and third instar larvae. Also, the first instar larvae took a longer period to recover from the stress-induced immobility when removed from the water and returned to ambient temperature. When I followed the development of individuals of each larval instar that survived from water immersion, I found that their developmental time, weight, pupation percentage, adult emergence percentage and adult weight were negatively affected by this stressor. However, the weight of S. calcitrans adults developed from immersed first larval instar individuals was not affected by water immersion whereas their counterparts developed from immersed second and third larval instars had lower body weight. This suggests that in S. calcitrans, water immersion stress at the earlier stage is less detrimental than that experienced at late stages. Conclusion This study provides a comparative overview of the fitness consequences associated with water immersion stress during S. calcitrans larval ontogeny. The results prove that the fitness shift induced by water immersion in S. calcitrans is stage-specific. My results illustrate the importance of considering each larval instar when assessing the impact of environmental factors on holometabolous insect performance as these may be decoupled by metamorphosis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T03:24:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3c9869fc99e144e381f9175c917e6d0d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2730-7182 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T03:24:19Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-3c9869fc99e144e381f9175c917e6d0d2022-12-21T18:40:38ZengBMCBMC Ecology and Evolution2730-71822021-05-0121111010.1186/s12862-021-01810-zWater immersion tolerance by larval instars of stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, L1758 (Diptera: Muscidae) impairs the fitness performance of their subsequent stagesSteve B. S. Baleba0International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe)Abstract Background In holometabolous insects, environmental factors experienced in pre-imaginal life stages affect the life-history traits within that stage and can also influence subsequent life stages. Here, I assessed tolerance to water immersion by the larval instars of the stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans L. (Diptera: Muscidae) and its impact on the life-history traits of their subsequent life stages. Results After submerging the three larval instars of S. calcitrans in distilled water, I found that the first instar larvae remained active for longer as compared to the second and third instar larvae. Also, the first instar larvae took a longer period to recover from the stress-induced immobility when removed from the water and returned to ambient temperature. When I followed the development of individuals of each larval instar that survived from water immersion, I found that their developmental time, weight, pupation percentage, adult emergence percentage and adult weight were negatively affected by this stressor. However, the weight of S. calcitrans adults developed from immersed first larval instar individuals was not affected by water immersion whereas their counterparts developed from immersed second and third larval instars had lower body weight. This suggests that in S. calcitrans, water immersion stress at the earlier stage is less detrimental than that experienced at late stages. Conclusion This study provides a comparative overview of the fitness consequences associated with water immersion stress during S. calcitrans larval ontogeny. The results prove that the fitness shift induced by water immersion in S. calcitrans is stage-specific. My results illustrate the importance of considering each larval instar when assessing the impact of environmental factors on holometabolous insect performance as these may be decoupled by metamorphosis.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-021-01810-zStomoxys calcitransLarval instarsWater immersion stressFitness parameters |
| spellingShingle | Steve B. S. Baleba Water immersion tolerance by larval instars of stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, L1758 (Diptera: Muscidae) impairs the fitness performance of their subsequent stages BMC Ecology and Evolution Stomoxys calcitrans Larval instars Water immersion stress Fitness parameters |
| title | Water immersion tolerance by larval instars of stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, L1758 (Diptera: Muscidae) impairs the fitness performance of their subsequent stages |
| title_full | Water immersion tolerance by larval instars of stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, L1758 (Diptera: Muscidae) impairs the fitness performance of their subsequent stages |
| title_fullStr | Water immersion tolerance by larval instars of stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, L1758 (Diptera: Muscidae) impairs the fitness performance of their subsequent stages |
| title_full_unstemmed | Water immersion tolerance by larval instars of stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, L1758 (Diptera: Muscidae) impairs the fitness performance of their subsequent stages |
| title_short | Water immersion tolerance by larval instars of stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, L1758 (Diptera: Muscidae) impairs the fitness performance of their subsequent stages |
| title_sort | water immersion tolerance by larval instars of stable fly stomoxys calcitrans l1758 diptera muscidae impairs the fitness performance of their subsequent stages |
| topic | Stomoxys calcitrans Larval instars Water immersion stress Fitness parameters |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-021-01810-z |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stevebsbaleba waterimmersiontolerancebylarvalinstarsofstableflystomoxyscalcitransl1758dipteramuscidaeimpairsthefitnessperformanceoftheirsubsequentstages |